Are gold, copper and other commodities becoming a longer-term portfolio decision rather than a short-term trade? In this Australian Investors Podcast conversation, Owen Rask sits down with Justin Lin of Global X to explore the idea of currency debasement, fractured supply chains and the case investors are making for hard assets.
Justin separates two arguments often bundled together under ‘debasement’: concern about the purchasing power of currencies, and a desire by some countries to reduce reliance on the US dollar. He explains why investors have looked at gold, infrastructure and industrial metals through those lenses—while Owen presses him on what can actually be measured, rather than simply repeated as a market narrative.
Copper provides a practical example. Justin argues that trade policy, inventory moving between markets and changing demand can matter as much as the headline about AI data centres. The pair also discuss energy security and the difficulty of securing critical minerals when production and processing are concentrated in a few places. Owen asks what those shifts could mean for a diversified portfolio.
The conversation then turns to portfolio construction: what role might a broad commodities fund play alongside shares and bonds, and how does exposure through commodity futures differ from owning physical assets? Justin describes the Global X BCOM ETF and its range of underlying markets, from metals and energy to agricultural products. Finally, Owen makes him choose between gold and Bitcoin over a five-year horizon. Justin makes the case for gold, while acknowledging that neither outcome is certain. Listen for the framework, the trade-offs and the questions worth asking—not a prediction you must follow.
